Hey Kid Goes A-Guising

The Moon Prince has already continued up the street, leaning on their cane as they hold their basket of candy. "I think I am getting the hang of this tradition! It is quite exhilirating, isn't it?" They knock on the door, then hold their basket up to the person who answers. "May I have some candy, sir or madame? Pretty please?"As Moon Prince moves to rejoin the group, a group of kids in monster costumes approaches. "Cool costume! Who are you supposed to be?"

"I am the Prince of the Moon," Moon Prince replies nobly.

"Never heard of 'em! Anyway, come play with us!" One kid tosses them a can of Silly String.

"Hmm? What is this? Oh!" MP exclaims, accidentally squirting some on themself. "Ah! What an amusing substance!"

Soon, the prince finds themselves embroiled in a full-on Silly String Fight!

Princess Muckley's wobbly frown turns into a bright (equally wobbly) smile at Gertrude's words. "You're right! I'm a beautiful princess. And you all are wearing such great costumes. We'll go to where we are appreciated." The large pink frills around her mass twirl as she spins with joy.

The disgruntled resident conceded to Amelie's demand, handing the cheerful blob a bunch of candies in her basket (although they more or less tossed it in with a huff).

Amelie still has the Serious String in hand when the Moon Prince ‘does battle.’

"Use this as well. You will look like Johnny Two-Guns from A Hypothetical Wild West Movie."

If the Moon Prince uses Amelie’s Serious String, their opponents’ Silly String will be neutralized, ensuring a quick end to this potentially harmful absurdity while appearing to be a fair-and-square victory by the Prince.

"Don't worry, Moon Prince. I've got your back," Gertrude says, brandishing her own can of Silly String. What many people don't know is that Gertrude was an expert in the ancient arts of Silly String combat. She deftly dodges around the other kids' blasts of sticky goo and fires back at them, distracting them from Moon Prince and allowing them to hold their own in the fight.

All this silliness and excitement has Princess Muckleby let out delighted laughter. However, the bag of candy she was "holding" gingerly by her side slips within her blob-like mass, with some falling all around the giggling glob. Thankfully, she has yet to notice this minor mishap and maybe it'd be best if the bubbly blob doesn't realize it.

Gertrude quietly follows in Muckleby's wake, picking up the fallen candy one by one and holding it in her arms. She waits for an opportunity to surreptitiously drop it back into the oozy lady's bag once it emerges again from within her quivering mass.

Amelie helps with the distraction by helping Muckleby adjust her costume. "You see how those other children are stepping on their on ghostsheets and wearing their Wolverine and-or Deadpool masks perpendicularly to their faces?

"This will not happen to anyone from the B&B. Not on my watch."

Amelie tilts the tiara ever-so-SHLEPP!-slightly."There. Your tiara is angularly askew, thus achieving the optimal cuteness-regality balance."

"Oh!" Princess Muckleby's smile widens at Amelie, reaching up to touch her tiara lightly, wishing not to ruin her cuteness-regality balance. "Oh, this is so pretty. Thanks Amelie! Hey, look at my beautiful tiara, Gertrude!" And so, the cheerful blob remained unaware of the candy fiasco as she rambled happily.

Hey Kid is running and laughing down the street. They occasionally twirl in delight, the ghost sheet dancing about them. Tonight is so much fun! I wish it could last forever... They see a house that has an alien abduction themed decoration and skip up to the door on the well lit porch.

Hey Kid stops before knocking on the door. Being nice has seemed to pay off for the others tonight, so maybe they could give it a try. They shake out the sheet so it is draped flat over them and finally knock politely on the door. I hope I get so much candy for being nice The door opens and an older man dressed as a vampire looks out. "Trick or treat! Hey Kid says. The man smiles and drops a single piece of candy in Hey Kid's bag before turning to go. "Wait! Can I have some more candy? Pretty please!" they say, holding up their bag in front of them.The man sighs before turning back with the candy. He grabs a handful of mini chocolate bars and drops them into Hey Kid's treat bag. "Have a good night... and watch out for alien vampires" he says and laughs as he goes back inside, closing the door behind him.

Hey Kid is walking slower now, thinking about things. That man did give them more candy but was it really worth being nice? Is it better than just grabbing a handful and running? Are alien vampires real?? Lost in thought they turn at a corner onto a street with every single house dark and quiet. But wait... is that the sound of a forlorn flute wafting in the breeze?

Gertrude feels the hair on the back of her neck start to prickle as they near the dark street. The eerie flutes bring to mind all of the horror books she's read about alien beings from the darkness between the stars. Once, she might have discounted those tales as stories, but with Moon Prince's arrival, she knows that humanity is definitely not alone in the universe. And they say every story comes from a kernel of truth.

"Hey Kid! I think I saw some cool decorations down that way! Why don't we go there and check it out? I bet they've got good candy!" she says, doing her best to steer the oblivious child away from the ominous street...

Amelie plays off of Gertrude’s distraction.

"Yes, let us follow Gertrude. The flute noises are surely from people practicing their instruments for the Thanksgiving parade. You know how it is, what with humans having to practice skills instead of downloading them."

Amelie downloads musical talent.They play the vacuum cleaner musically, and say, "Come on, kiddos and kiddays. Let us march parade style behind Gertude, our color guardian! And anyone with a newspaper, refrigerator or bicycle tires spokes is encouraged to add to the musicality."

"Ah, such lovely flauting! It reminds me of the troubadours who would serenade the royal family as we drifted down the dry riverbeds on the Moon," the Moon Prince says with a sigh. They begin to dance lightly down the street, waltzing with their cane up to the next few doors and politely requesting candy.

Unfortunately, the Moon Prince forgets to take into account the higher gravity of the Earth. They stumble into a stoop and end up crashing into the front door, falling with a groan.The door opens, and an indignant man in a fancy suit peers down at Moon Prince disdainfully. "S-sorry. Um, trick or treat?" Moon Prince offers hopefully, holding up their bag.

The man sneers. "Ugh, what are those rags you are wearing? Your costume leaves much to be desired. Put a little more effort into it next time, clumsy child." He clucks his tongue.

The Moon Prince frowns, uncertain how to react.

Gertrude puts a hand on Moon Prince's shoulder. "Don't let those jerks get to you. They didn't give you a treat, so now you get to give them a trick." She opens her backpack and pulls out a carton of eggs. "Remember how I was a whiz with the Silly String? Well, I'm also really good at throwing eggs at mean people's houses, turns out. Wanna see?"

She chucks half of the eggs unerringly at the house, watching them splatter against the walls in a satisfying manner. They land in a precise pattern, the splatter making a shape similar to the mask Gertrude wears, with narrowed eyes and what looks like a tongue sticking out of the mouth! She chuckles darkly and hands the other eggs to Moon Prince.

Not wanting to undermine Gertrude’s effort but unable to contribute to a mess, Amelie simply says, "I will not be cleaning that."

"GLORIOUS RETRIBUTION!" laughs the Moon Prince as they lob the remaining eggs at the home, then limp away as fast as their cane will allow them. Once they are in the clear, they burst out into giggles. "Oh, that was a grand trick, Gertrude! Thank you!"

---

Hey Kid is pulled out of their reverie by Gertrude and then quickly picks up a pair of sticks to bang along with Amelie's vacuum concert.